CBI to operate from single office in Kolkata

Kolkata, April 23 (IANS) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will be operating from a single office in Kolkata in the coming days.

Currently, the two main units of the central probe agency -- the anti-corruption branch (ACB) and the special operation group (SOG) -- are operating from two different locations.

The ACB, which is mainly dealing the probe in different financial scams like recruitment irregularities in teaching and non- teaching staff in state-run schools, cattle smuggling and coal smuggling among others, is operating from the CBI's Nizam Palace office in central Kolkata.

On the other hand, the SOG, which is handling the probe on the post-poll violence cases in West Bengal, is operating from the central government office (CGO) complex office at Salt Lake in the northern outskirts of Kolkata.

Sources said that the decision to bring all the units of the central agency under one roof has been taken with the view of bringing about better coordination between the different units.

If everything moves in the right direction, the sources added, all the operating units of the prime investigation agency of the country in Kolkata will be under one roof at Mominpur Square, which is well connected with different parts of the city.

The decision on this count, sources said, was finalised during the recent visit of CBI's additional director Ajay Bhatnagar to Kolkata.

Bhatnagar was in Kolkata primarily to review the progress of investigation by the central agency in different cases with special focus on recruitment scam,

While the CBI is bringing all its units under roof in Kolkata, Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is conducting a parallel probe in many cases specially the ones handled by ACB, is increasing its office space and adding additional infrastructure in its existing facilities at Central Government Office (CGO) complex at Salt Lake.

Currently, the ED has two facilities in two separate buildings within the CGO complex. However, following the increased pressure of high-profile investigations, there had been an increase in the staff strength at these two offices.

Often the investigating officers have to take high-profile persons into custody for questioning and for that purpose they are required to set up make-shift lockups in the existing facilities, which is a matter of immense inconvenience.

So, the ED authorities have decided to occupy the space vacated by National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation, whose majority staff has moved to the organisation's own office elsewhere in Salt Lake only.

This new space will be renovated to be mainly used for setting up lockups for housing those detained by the ED sleuths for the purpose of interrogation.